


Stuck With You

by questionableatbest



Category: The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-22
Updated: 2015-12-31
Packaged: 2018-05-08 08:47:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 18,960
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5491025
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/questionableatbest/pseuds/questionableatbest
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Klaus and Caroline get stuck in the same elevator on Christmas Eve and end up getting to know each other better than they’d expected (or, in Caroline’s case, wanted to)!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

At 8:30 PM on Christmas Eve, Caroline was finally leaving work.

Her friends thought she was crazy for accepting the hours that her boss demanded, but the Mikaelson's law firm was by far the best in town, and she was honored to intern there, no matter what the hours were.

She was standing on the elevator and watching the doors slide close in front of her, when a briefcase came out of nowhere at the last second, sufficiently stopping them. The doors automatically opened at the disturbance, and Caroline couldn't help but roll her eyes at the man who was standing in front of them.

"Caroline," Klaus Mikaelson drawled in his infuriatingly hot British accent, as his trademark wolfish grin grew on his face. "What a pleasant surprise."

"Mr. Mikaelson," she greeted him with a curt nod, doing her best to keep it short and sweet without seeming rude. Technically, she worked for his brother, Elijah, but she was still employed by his families firm, so she tried her best to keep their relationship professional, no matter how obviously he wanted the exact opposite.

"Nobody calls me that, and you know it," he chided her, stepping onto the elevator and moving to stand beside her. He faced her, while she continued to face the wall, praying that the elevator would hurry up. "It's Klaus."

Caroline pursed her lips, and closed her eyes for a moment. She nodded again, but didn't offer a response. Instead, she focused on the small screen that was counting down the floor numbers.

37, 36, 35, 34, 33

"Right then," Klaus said, her lack of a response not deterring him, as per usual, "What's got you staying at work so late tonight? Shouldn't you be on your way home for the holidays? God knows Elijah left hours ago…"

She was going to let him ramble on until they got to the first floor. She didn't owe him any answers. He knew she worked hard- everybody knew that- and it wasn't the first time she'd stayed late. He didn't need to know that she didn't have anywhere to go for the holidays, and that the only thing waiting for her back at her apartment was a cheap bottle of wine and a Netflix marathon. He didn't need to know anything about her, so she let his assumptions flow freely and ignored them completely, until the words were suddenly cut off by the elevator coming to an abrupt stop.

/

For the first time since Klaus got on the elevator, Caroline turned to look at him. Her eyebrows were scrunched up in confusion, her lips still pursed together, and somehow she still looked as beautiful as ever.

The stop they'd come to had cut of his sentence, but after a few seconds went by and they didn't start to move, he spoke again.

"Shit."

"Helpful," Caroline snapped at him, before she uncrossed her arms and reached a hand out, pressing the ground floor button a few times before she moved to the open button.

"Right, because your contribution is working so well," he shot back, nodding to the buttons that weren't lighting up no matter how many times she pressed them. No matter how beautiful Caroline Forbes was, she was also the most infuriating woman Klaus had ever met.

She scoffed at that, before crossing her arms and popping her hip to the side. "I'm sure it'll start working again any second."

She was probably right about that, but Klaus didn't feel like agreeing with her. Instead, he let out a long breath of air, before grabbing his phone from his pocket. He had a few missed texts from Rebekah asking what time he'd be at her place the next day, but that was it. When he went to respond to them, he came to the stark realization that he didn't have service.

He did the only logical thing he could think of, and lifted his phone above his head, hoping to get at least a bar, but he had no luck.

"Really?" Caroline demanded, apparently realizing the predicament and reacting accordingly. She let out an exasperated sigh, and Klaus was convinced that she was going to stomp her foot next. Instead, she reached out and opened the drawer underneath the buttons, pulling out the phone.

He scoffed at that. "You really think somebody's going to answer that?" he asked, his voice heavy with doubt, which she rolled her eyes at but otherwise seemed to ignore. He could hear the dial tone ringing throughout the elevator and, after it became clear that nobody was answering, he spoke again. "It's Christmas Eve- I can guarantee you that everybody's gone home by now."

She flashed him the dirtiest look he'd ever seen. "Everybody can't be gone."

"Yes they can," he assured her, knowing that he was right, even if he hated what that meant.

"So what- we're just going to be stuck here until Boxing Day?" she ran a hand through her hair, and unzipped her jacket slightly. She was clearly growing more and more nervous by the second, and suddenly he felt bad that he'd been the one to discourage her to begin with.

"Surely somebody will come looking for one of us before then," he reassured her with a shrug, "That, or the elevator will start working again,"

\\\\\\\\\\\\\

The elevator hadn't started moving again, and her phone wasn't working, and Caroline hadn't felt this trapped in a long time, and Klaus Mikaelson staring her down, which didn't helping matters at all.

"Don't worry love," he said, breaking the silence after several minutes, "I'm sure you'll make it back to your one horse town in time for Christmas."

"How do you know where I'm from?" she snapped before she could stop herself, turning around to face him and finding him leaning leisurely against the back wall of the elevator.

A smile grew on his face at that, and she silently cursed herself for having broken her vow to not engage with him. Klaus Mikaelson was tricky, and smart, and evil, and talking to him wouldn't serve her any good at all.

"You work for my families company. I like to know a bit about the employees," he shrugged in his nonchalant way, as if it explained everything.

"I highly doubt that," she called his bluff, with a small smirk on her face. There was no way that he cared about his family's employees. She was pretty sure that he didn't care about anybody other than himself, the occasional client, and possibly his siblings.

"Well then you must think very lowly of me, love," he said quietly, the smile dropping from his face as he crossed his arms over his chest and adopted the predatory look that she'd grown used to seeing on him. It was the same look he wore in the court room, when he defended murderers and criminals and whoever else could afford his services.

"Of course not. That would imply that I think about you at all, which I don't."

His eyebrows rose slightly at that and then, before she realized what was happening, he pushed himself off the wall and closed the distance between them in one step. She went to move back at that, realizing quickly that the wall was behind her and there was nowhere for her to go. She'd known the man for months, but she'd never been this close to him, and with that closeness she became acutely aware of how good he smelt- like cool air, as if he'd been outside all day, which she knew wasn't the case. She also noticed how dark his eyes were, and how sharp the angles of his mouth were, and how close his lips were to hers.

He stood there for seconds while she studied him and then, just when she'd almost forgotten how much she hated him, his lips turned up in a smirk. "You really expect me to believe that, sweetheart?"

She let out a small, bitter laugh at that, and forced herself to look away from him.

"Alright then, whatever you say," he muttered, his voice low as he lingered for another second, before he took a step back and retreated to his spot against the wall with a smug look on his face.

She would never, in a million years, admit that she missed having him so close to her.

/

"So, you never did answer my question," Klaus pointed out, bored out of his mind after five minutes of silence that felt like forever. He'd taken up a spot on the floor, while Caroline was still standing in front of the buttons, ready for whenever the elevator started moving again. "Shouldn't you be headed home for the holidays?"

"I didn't realize you'd asked," she said, turning back to face him as she did so. The lines on her face were sharp, like she was still ready for a fight.

"Sure I did," he responded easily, trying to keep things casual despite her unusually tense demeanor, "When I first got on the elevator. I made small talk, and you ignored me? Ring any bells?"

"I do remember ignoring you…"

He couldn't help but roll his eyes at her show. "Cute."

"I try," she smiled, with a small, triumphant shrug that said the exact opposite.

"Still haven't answered the question, love," he said dryly, his lips pursed together as he waited for a response. He didn't know nearly as much about Caroline Forbes as he wanted to, and he couldn't figure out for the life of him why somebody as brilliant, and beautiful, and young as she was would be spending Christmas Eve alone in an office.

For her part, her face clouded the second he asked the question, and he almost regretted doing so. "I'm staying in town for Christmas this year. Not that it's any of your business," she said pointedly, her guard up once again.

"That sounds lonely," he said bluntly, watching a range of emotions cross over her face at the words. The girl really was an open book, and she was one that he loved to read.

It was a simple matter of fact that Klaus was one of the best criminal lawyers in town and, because of that, not many people were willing to fight with him, but Caroline was the exception. She squared her shoulders, raised her eyebrows, and spat, "What, like your plans are any better?" with nothing but vile in her voice.

"Actually, I'll be at Rebekah's the whole day tomorrow. Presents in the morning, turkey dinner at night, the whole thing."

"That… sounds nice," she finally settled on. Klaus could practically see the fight inside of her disappearing, and he kind of missed it.

"Yeah, well, if you think that, then you obviously haven't spent much time around my family," he said, only partly joking. The whole lot of Mikaelson children had become lawyers, which made for lots of arguments, lots of competition, and ridiculously tense family gatherings. "Do you have any siblings?"

"No, it's just me and my mom," she said, her lips now pursed together in a straight line, as she avoided eye contact with him, "We're not very close."

For some reason that made him mad. Caroline was possibly the most brilliant woman he'd ever met, and there was no doubt in his mind that she was the best thing to ever happen to her mother. The woman would have to be crazy to not want a daughter like her in her life. "Well, I'd say that's her loss," he said, trying to stay casual, but knowing that he meant every word of it.

The only response he got from her was a small nod and a tentative smile, but it was better than nothing.

A couple minutes later Caroline leaned her back against the wall and slowly slid down it, so that she was sitting across from him on the elevator floor, and he counted it as a victory for himself.

\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Caroline had been interning at the Mikaelson's law firm for 3 months, and this was the first time she'd actually had a real conversation with Klaus. He'd flirted with her before and she'd shut him down, and every once in a while they discussed work, but that was about it. She had to admit, she didn't entirely hate talking to him. He was being surprisingly decent, but one thing was still bothering her.

"I'm not lonely, you know," she said, obviously surprising him with her small proclamation, so she backtracked. "You said I sound lonely. I'm not. I have a lot of friends; they're just… not here right now."

"Alright, love; whatever you say," he replied, but his forehead wrinkled in confusion and his voice held a hint of disbelief, and suddenly Caroline was mad again.

"I do. It's just- it's complicated, okay?"

"Sure it is," he nodded his head, obviously aiming to sound earnest but missing by a mile.

She'd been wrong. He wasn't decent; he was infuriating. "You don't know anything about me."

"You sure about that, sweetheart?" he asked, putting his elbows on his knees and leaning forward, interrupting her before she could respond. "You work harder than anybody else here. You hate losing. You refuse to back down from a fight, and you need to be in control of everything, constantly. That stems from insecurities, I'd assume. You're also absolutely stunning, but anybody with eyes could tell you that. How'd I do?"

She was not going to break eye contact, and she was not going to wince, and she was not going to do anything else that would let Klaus know how right he'd been. His trademark smirk was back on his face and he looked like he was getting ready to keep talking, and she couldn't have that.

"What's my middle name?" she asked point-blank, leaning forward so that their faces were closer than before, letting her stare him down.

"Excuse me?"

"When's my birthday?"

"I-"

"What's my favourite food? My favourite movie? What TV show am I binge-watching right now? What's my favourite color? How old was I when my dad left? Who's my best friend? Why did I decide to move to New York?"

By the time Caroline finished her rant he'd stopped trying to interrupt her, but he didn't look away. There was something in his eyes- a look that she'd never seen before- and it scared her, so she did what she knew how to do, and she kept talking. "You don't know anything about me- at least not the important things."

The elevator fell silent after that, and Caroline thought she'd put an end to the conversation. She was still a little bit on-edge over Klaus' original description of her, but she could ignore that. She worked for his brother after all; he must have heard all of that from Elijah, or something. She'd just convinced herself that that was the case, when he spoke again.

"So tell me."

/

Klaus could only handle so much of the girls' hostility before he snapped, and he was reaching that point. She looked startled by his outburst, so he took the opportunity to continue.

"What's your favourite color, Caroline?"

"That's what you want to know? That's what you're taking from this?"

She looked taken aback, and that was fine by him. "I'm trying to get to know you- is that a problem?"

She laughed at that, her eyes widening for a moment before she looked up at him. "Yes," she declared, shaking her head and rolling her eyes, and causing a wave of fury to wash over him.

"Why?"

"I don't want to know you."

"Why?"

"Excuse me?"

"Why don't you want to know me? What have I ever done to hurt you? Is there something that I've done to earn your hostility, or are you like this to everybody you meet?"

She let out a humourless laugh and rolled her eyes before she turned back to him and spoke with nothing but disdain in her voice. "You're Klaus Mikaelson," she said, as if that meant something.

"And?" he prompted her, confusion washing over him as he waited for her to elaborate.

"And you're the best criminal lawyer in the damn state, alright? You defend terrible people, and you win every single case, and the bad guys just walk free," she finished, waving her hands to accentuate her points, before letting them drop to her side as she stared at him.

He had to admit that that wasn't what he expected, but looking at her he knew that there was more. He could tell that she was holding back. "That's my job love," he pointed out, keeping his voice soft and even so that he wouldn't start yelling his next point. "But you know that. Why do you really hate me?"

He could hear the breath she let out from where he was sitting, and then she spoke. "We studied one of your cases in law school," she said, clearly uncertain, but still unwilling to admit defeat and back down. "The one where you defended your father's killer."

His blood ran cold at that, and he felt a muscle in his jaw twitch. It was like her words had flipped a switch causing all of the air to grow heavy in the elevator, and for a moment he felt like he was back in the courtroom, those few years ago.

"Let me be clear on two things, Caroline," he finally broke the silence when he was sure that he could speak without yelling, "First of all, that man may have been married to my mother, but he was not my father. Secondly, getting hit by a drunk driver was the best thing that he ever did for me."

He watched her react to every word- first her eyes grew wide in shock, and then her forehead wrinkled in disgust, and her lips pursed together, and he knew what was coming next. She was going to call him a monster, and look at him with nothing but hate, and for some reason he couldn't stand the thought of that. It was nothing he hadn't heard before, but coming from her, he doubted he could take it, so he kept talking.

"Tell me, when you studied the case, did your teacher mention that Mikael was also a drunk? Did you ever talk about how he would throw his empty bottles at me until I got him more? Or about the time when I decided to find my real father, and came home to find that the locks were changed and my mother in the hospital?"

By that point he'd lost all hope of keeping his voice steady, but he didn't care. He had nothing but disdain for the man who'd raised him, and those feelings surfaced all too quickly whenever people brought up Mikael. Still though, this wasn't what he wanted- yelling at Caroline about past traumas wasn't helping anything, so he cut himself off with one final statement.

"The man who killed Mikael did this world a favour."

\\\\\\\\\\\\\

When it had come to law school, Klaus had been infamous, so Caroline had been wary of him from the second she'd set foot in the Mikaelson's law firm, and he'd lived up to every expectation that she'd had. He was ruthless in the courts, sharp-tongued everywhere else, and his casually detached demeanor was more than a little bit unsettling.

She'd never bothered to look past that, and now she felt ashamed.

At the moment, he looked like a sad, kicked puppy, and she had no idea what to say. She wasn't a stranger to abuse, but that didn't seem like the direction to go.

"I don't have a favourite colour," she finally admitted tentatively, biting her bottom lip and growing defensive when he looked at her with nothing but confusion on his face. "You asked what my favourite colour is- I think it's stupid to choose a favourite one when there are so many great ones- like, can't I just like them all? Why do I have to choose?"

He kept staring at her, until one eyebrow slowly started to rise, and then a single, abrupt laugh burst out of his chest. "That's what you're taking from his?" he demanded, repeating her words from earlier before he started laughing again, shaking his head at her while he did it.

She couldn't stop a smile from growing on her face and she only tried to hold back laughter for a moment before she gave into it. "Come on- you wanted to get to know me," she protested, "Now's your chance- what do you want to know?"

His laughter died down and in its place was the smile that she'd grown used to, but all of a sudden it left her feeling vulnerable. "Anything?" he asked, an eyebrow still raised and a hint of mischief in his voice.

"Within reason," she countered, not wanting to back down from a challenge, but also having no idea what direction he was going to go.

"Why aren't you going home for Christmas?"

"I told you-"

"That it's complicated?" he cut her off, "Forgive me for wanting a bit more of an explanation."

"And if I said that it's personal?" she tried, because there were certain things that Caroline just didn't talk about, as a rule. Her past was one of those things.

"I'd say that you can trust me."

There was a time when Caroline had been willing to trust openly and honestly, but those days were far behind her. Still, there was something in Klaus' eyes that told her to open up and, despite how much it scared her, she decided to listen to it.

"When I was in high school I dated a guy who was a lot older than me…" she started off, the previously unspoken words sounding foreign on her tongue, and her voice shaking slightly, "He… he hurt me. A lot. I got out of it when I left for college but I… I almost didn't."

"Caroline, I-" Klaus started during her pause, catching her attention. His gaze was more intense than she's ever thought possible, and she had to look away.

"It's fine- I'm fine," she interrupted him, saying it both to him and as a reminder to herself. "I got out. But a few weeks ago I found out that my best friend is with him and I just… She saw the whole thing, you know? She was there, and she saw the bruises, and she visited me in the hospital, and she forgives him."

"I'm going to go out on a limb and say that maybe it's time you found some better friends, love," Klaus said softly, surprising her with just how kind he sounded. After that he reached out and placed a hand on Caroline's knee in a comforting gesture. "You deserve better."

"Yeah," she agreed, having come to that same realization a long time ago, but still finding comfort in hearing somebody else say it. These days she was okay more often than not, but finding out that Elena was 'in love' with Damon had still shaken her. "I just can't go home right now. I just can't."

He didn't say anything, but when Caroline snuck a glance back at him, there was nothing but compassion painting his face, and he squeezed her knee gently to reaffirm that.

/

Klaus wanted nothing more than to hunt down Caroline's asshole of an ex-boyfriend and kill the man himself, but something about Caroline's demeanor stopped him from expressing his rage. Her sadness was calm, and it calmed him, and it made him want to comfort her, even though he had no idea how to do that.

And then, in the blink of an eye, she was okay again. "So, what else do you want to know?" she asked and, even though the cheerfulness in her voice seemed forced, he let it slide. She obviously wanted to move away from the conversation, and that was something that he understood.

He let a grin form on his face and waited until she started to look somewhat concerned before he asked, "What's your favourite type of food?"

"Italian. Why?"

"I know a great place just around the corner- it'll make for a perfect first date."

She let out a full on laugh at that, and it was quite possibly Klaus' new favourite sound. "What makes you think we're going on a date?" she demanded lightly, her tone nowhere near as confrontational as it normally was, as a smile danced on her face.

"Well, you're still talking to me, aren't you?"

"We're stuck in an elevator together- it's not like there's anything else for me to do," she pointed out, though her cheeks were turning pink, which told him something else entirely.

"Right, so you don't fancy me at all?" he prodded, tapping her knee with his outstretched foot until she looked up at him.

She bit her lower lip and looked at anywhere but him, until she finally declared, "I think we should be friends."

"Friends?"

"Friends."

"Fine then; as my friend, you can accompany me to my family's Christmas dinner tomorrow night."

If her cheeks were pink before, they were bright red now, and her eyes were as wide as he'd ever seen them. "Mmmmm, I don't know about that…" she protested, sitting up straight before leaning forward, placing her elbows on her crossed legs.

"Well, as my friend, I can't let you spend Christmas alone, now can I?" he asked, keeping his eyes trained on hers as he watched her desperately try to come up with an excuse.

"But Elijah will be there."

"Well he is my brother, last I checked, that does make his attendance at a 'family dinner' quite likely," Klaus replied, altogether finding a lot of joy in teasing her.

"He's my boss- it'll be weird."

"Nonsense- he adores you," Klaus brushed her concerns off, "All he ever talks about is how you're the only competent intern he's got, and Rebekah doesn't hate you either. Now that I think about it, Kol might actually fancy you, but I'll have a talk with him about that."

"I-"

"Please, Caroline?" he interrupted her, trying one last time to get her to agree. He didn't know why it was so important to him that she come, but the idea of her alone in the city on Christmas seemed unbearably sad, so he continued to pester her. "Come on- with you there, my family might actually be tolerable."

"Well, when you put it like that…." she trailed off, rolling her eyes, but clearly agreeing to go.

"Dinner's being served at 6; if we ever get out of here I'll pick you up at 5:30."

"You know this doesn't count as a date, right?"

He couldn't stop himself from leaning forward at that, so that their faces were just inches apart, before he all but whispered, "Trust me love, when I take you out on a date, you'll know it."

\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Caroline was very aware of the fact that she was flirting with Klaus and, surprisingly enough, she was actually okay with it.

"Again with the arrogance? Really?" she taunted him, tilting her head slightly but otherwise not moving away from him.

"I'd prefer the term confidence," he corrected her with a nonchalant shrug and a shit-eating grin, "But whatever you'd like to call it doesn't change the fact that you'll go out with me eventually."

"And no matter how 'confident' you are doesn't change the fact that that'll never happen if we die in this elevator."

He snorted at that, caught off guard by her rapid change of topics. "I highly doubt we'll die in here love."

"But you also thought that somebody would find us eventually- it's almost been two hours," she countered, checking her phone and growing slightly concerned- she hadn't realized how much time had actually passed and, no matter how much she'd grown to tolerate Klaus, she wanted out of the elevator.

Of course, he didn't show any signs of worry. If his nonchalance about everything weren't so infuriating, it might've actually been endearing. "I've been known to work later than this on holidays," he shrugged, "But my siblings will notice my absence sooner or later- it's just a matter of being patient."

She couldn't stop herself from rolling her eyes at that, and he clearly caught onto her frustration. "You know, sweetheart," he continued, mischief shining through his smile as he shifted so that they were even closer together, "If you're bored I can think of quite a few ways to pass the time…"

No matter how much disdain she had held for the man, even she had to admit that Klaus Mikaelson's looks were godlike. More often than not, it was the talk of office gossip and, while she'd tried to tell herself that she was above all of that, it didn't change the fact that she'd fantasized about a very similar offer once or twice…

And then he winked, and the corny gesture broke the spell.

"Yeah right," Caroline scoffed, shaking herself out of whatever trance his words had put her in, setting her mind on the task at hand, and checking her phone. "You still aren't getting service?"

"None at all."

Caroline told herself that she imagined the hint of disappointment in his voice at her change of topics, and she busied herself by standing up and putting at least a little bit of distance between them. She turned away from him and held her phone above her head at just about every possible angle, and still got nothing.

"If I thought that'd work don't you'd think I would have tried it by now?" Klaus asked after a few seconds, his previous skepticism back, which Caroline chose to ignore.

She wasn't stupid, no matter what her blonde hair lead people to believe, and once she set her mind on something, she got it done. They were getting out of the damn elevator.

/

Caroline was a vision with her hands on her hips and a pout on her face, and it took Klaus a moment to realize that she was bossing him around again.

"Stand up."

"What?"

"I've got an idea- would you just get up?"

He was used to fighting people on just about everything- as a lawyer it was his job- but he found that he was willing to listen to her without much hesitation, so he stood and was greeted with a satisfied smile from her.

"Okay, now you need to lift me up," she instructed, completely and entirely serious.

"Excuse me?" he stuttered, positive that he'd imagined the request.

"You'll lift me, and I'll move one of the ceiling tiles- they look loose enough."

"And then what?" he asked, becoming partly convinced that their time in captivity had driven her crazy, if this was her plan to get them out.

She was silent for a moment, apparently stumped by his question, and then she shrugged. "Maybe I'll get service from up there? Or there could be an escape hatch or something?"

He didn't say anything at that, and it only took her a few seconds before she jumped to her own defense. "I don't know, okay? But it's not like you have a better idea, so you can't say anything."

She was right about that and trying couldn't really hurt anything and, for some reason, he really didn't want to let her down, so he just returned her shrug and said, "Fine by me, love," awaiting further instruction.

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Ignoring how little distance there was between them, Caroline let her eyes trail up and down Klaus' body, telling herself that she had strictly strategic intentions in mind. She was not focusing on the fact that he clearly worked out, or how his suit hugged his lean muscles perfectly, or that if she just stood on her toes and leaned forward she could…

He interrupted that train of thought by clearing his throat. "I am right here love…" he trailed off, apparently reading her mind and leaving her face a shade of bright red.

"Right," she said quickly, shaking off her embarrassment and trying to focus, "Here… Uhm, turn around."

His eyebrows shot up at that.

"It'll probably be easiest for you to lift me up on your shoulders," she explained, sounding as business like as possible as she raised her eyebrows and waited for him to oblige.

"Alright then," Klaus shrugged seconds later, letting out one last, resigned sigh, before he turned around and kneeled down in front of Caroline. She faltered for a second at that, unsure of how to proceed because really- this was just about the most awkward plan she could have come up with. "Problem, love?"

"No, no," Caroline shook her head quickly, sending a reassuring smile in his direction before she let out a deep breath and laughed slightly. "Just don't drop me."

"I wouldn't dream of it," he promised, and it was all the encouragement she needed.

She threw a leg over one of his shoulders, and caught her balance, waiting until he had a firm grip on her upper thigh before she mirrored the action with the other leg, and then she was sitting.

"You alright love?" Klaus asked, apparently not at all fazed by her weight, which she was slightly relieved about.

"Of course I'm alright- I was my cheer captain for years. This is nothing," she reassured him confidently, weaving her hands through his hair to adjust her balance just a little bit.

Underneath her legs she felt Klaus' shoulder shift, laughing at her comment. "Of course you were," he said softly, catching her off guard with the sheer amount of affection in his voice, and then shifting, and standing up straight in one swift motion.

She held back a squeal at the sudden movement, and then went to work quickly. She was close enough to reach the ceiling of the elevator, and when she reached up and pushed tentatively at the tile closest to her it shifted. She smiled at that, happy that her plan hadn't been a complete failure, before she moved onto the next part.

"Can I have your phone?" she asked Klaus, dangling a hand in front of his face and waiting for him to fish it out of his pocket, all while using her core strength to hold herself steady.

She heard Klaus mutter something that sounded like, "I can't believe this is actually working," which she chose to ignore when he placed the phone in her hand a second later.

"Password?"

"1-2-3-4."

"That's not very secure," she couldn't help but chide him and, even though she couldn't see him, she just knew that he rolled his eyes in response. "I guess I'll call Elijah?"

"Yeah, that'll do- put him on speaker."

/

The ringing filled up the previously silent elevator, though it barely distracted Klaus from the way that Caroline was absentmindedly running her fingers through his hair.

Having her so close to him was intoxicating, even if it was in a situation even stranger than he could have ever imagined. He had almost convinced himself that the whole thing was a mass hallucination, when his older brothers' voice filled the small room.

"Niklaus? Rebekah's been trying to contact you for the past hour- what is going on?"

"Good to hear from you too, brother," he replied easily, looking up towards the phone, and resting the back of his head against Caroline's torso in the process.

"If you're planning on skipping tomorrow, you'll have to tell her yourself; I will not get in between that again."

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Caroline raise her eyebrows, so he spoke before she got any ideas about missing the dinner. "I wouldn't dream of it- in fact, I'll be bringing a guest," he said, squeezing her thigh where his hand rested on it.

Apparently annoyed by the turn the conversation was taking, Caroline cleared her throat, drawing Elijah's attention in the process. "Is somebody there with you, Nik?"

"Actually yes," Klaus said, purposefully taking his time with the admission, because he couldn't resist torturing Caroline, "You see, I ran into a bit of a problem leaving the office- the elevator stuck again. Luckily Caroline's here to keep me company; otherwise I would have died of boredom ages ago."

"Wait," Caroline snapped the second he finished talking, "Again? This has happened before?"

"The elevator's get a little bit questionable at night and I have a tendency to work late," he admitted, noting how he felt her legs tense and her hand grow still in his hair, "It may have happened once or twice in the past…"

"And how have you gotten out in the past?" she demanded, apparently ignoring the fact that his brother was still on the phone and opting to yell at him.

"Well normally I have service, or there's somebody working downstairs," he explained lazily, knowing that he probably should have mentioned it sooner or later, but also that it wouldn't really have made a difference.

"Right, so you just left it out. Thanks for that."

"I really don't see what it would have changed, love."

Elijah cleared his throat then. "I'll make some calls and get you two out. Try not to kill each other."

"Thank you," Klaus said, drowning out the 'no promises' that he swore he heard Caroline mutter under her breath, and then the phone beeped and the dial tone filled the elevator.

\\\\\\\\\\\\\

"Well would you put me down?" Caroline demanded after Elijah hung up the phone and she was still stuck on Klaus' shoulders. A part of her knew that it was unreasonable to be mad at him, but she opted to ignore that part.

"That depends," he drawled out, as slowly and infuriatingly as ever, tapping his fingers on her leg the whole time, "Are you going to go back to ignoring me?"

"Well, that depends. Are you going to lie to me again?"

"Caroline, I withheld a truth, and you knowing it wouldn't have made a difference," his voice was steady but slightly annoyed, and that was fine by her.

"I'll jump off."

"You'll get hurt."

"I was a cheerleader- I can handle a 6 foot drop."

She could have sworn that Klaus muttered something about her being a 'stubborn piece of work' under his breath, but she choose to ignore it, because he knelt down and finally let her climb off of his back.

With her feet on solid ground again, Caroline took a step back from where Klaus was moving to stand up and leaned against the elevator wall. She crossed her arms and pursed her lips and when he turned back around to look at her, she knew that Klaus was met with a look of pure disdain.

"We're doing this again, are we?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," she replied coolly, doing her best to keep her shoulders squared and hold her ground, even as he took a step towards her, invading her personal space without a second thought.

"Sure you do love; you know it all too well," Klaus said, closing the last of the distance between them with a small step, before resting his hand against the elevator wall beside her head and looking at her with his steady, intense gaze. "You pretend to hate me, I chase after you, you pretend that you aren't dying to have your perfect little feathers ruffled…"

Whether or not Klaus had more to say didn't really matter, because Caroline needed him to shut up, and there was only one real way to get him to do that.

Her mouth was on his before she could stop herself. He was obviously surprised so she took advantage of it, grabbing either side of his face with her hands, pulling him closer, and kissing him deeper. Of course, he didn't stay still for long, and it was only a matter of seconds before he had one hand tangled in her hair, the other grabbing her waist, and his tongue begging for entrance into her mouth.

Kissing Klaus demanded all of her attention- it was consuming, and he pulled back way too soon.

"See love, that wasn't so hard, now was it?"

///////

With her lips bright red and slightly swollen, and her hair entirely messed up from where his hand had been moments ago, Caroline Forbes was as beautiful as ever.

For a moment she looked conflicted, but then she simply rolled her eyes at his comment and went back to pursing her lips together. She looked ready to scold him, and he was sure that she was going to push him away, but then she was kissing him again, and he never wanted it to end.

Where he was hard lines and rough edges, she was soft and gentle, and she felt heavenly beneath his hands. He had her pressed back against the elevator wall, with his hands running up and down her sides, and his lips pressed firmly against hers, and they fit perfectly together.

He bit her lip, and she let out a low moan. Her tongue danced against his, and he pulled her closer. He left her mouth and trailed wet, open mouthed kisses down neck, and she writhed against him. It was a game of give and take, and they were both playing to win.

Caroline was the first to take it further, trailing a hand down his side and sneaking it up his shirt. He pulled back for a second at that, taking the chance to truly look at her.

"Caroline," he said, more as a warning than anything else. He knew what he wanted; he just needed to know that she wanted it too.

"Please Klaus," she replied instantly, her voice not much more than a gasp as she looked at him with nothing but exasperation on her face.

He didn't need any more of an offer, before he all but jumped back on her, pouring everything inside of him into the kiss, and knowing that she was doing the same, before they were interrupted by a shrill, beep, and then they were moving.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Christmas dinner!

True to his word, Klaus rang Caroline's doorbell at exactly 5:30 the next day.

She answered moments later, stunning him into a momentary silence. Her hair framed her face in a halo made of golden curls, and she wore a red dress that managed to hug her body perfectly, while still being appropriate for a family dinner, and she looked as beautiful as he'd ever seen her.

"Hey," she greeted him as she opened the door, smiling when she saw him, before looking down at the flowers in his hands. "Are those for me?"

"Yes," Klaus said, shaking himself out of the trance that seeing her had put him in, and holding them out to her, "Merry Christmas, love."

"Thank you," she said, sounding genuinely touched by the gesture. She took them from him and held them just under her nose, closing her eyes as she smelt them before she looked back up at him. She then took a quick step towards him, put her free hand on his shoulder and stood on her toes, placing a light kiss on his cheek before stepping back again. "I'll just go put these in water- but please, come in!"

She walked away hurriedly after that, and Klaus took it as an opportunity to look around her apartment.

It was simple, with white walls and clean furniture, and absolutely nothing out of place. Knowing the woman who lived there, that didn't surprise him at all- the place suited her. To anybody else it would likely seem bare and clinical, but something in the air smelt familiar, and that made it seem homey to him.

In her absence, he walked over to a table and picked up a picture that was resting on it. It was of a young girl with blonde hair and a guarded smile, and a woman in a sheriff's uniform, with her arm around the girl, beaming at her.

"That's me and my mom," Caroline's voice interrupted him gently, as she came up behind him and took the picture out of his hand. She wiped off a speck of dust, and then put it back down on the table.

"You miss her," Klaus said simply, noting the distance in her eyes as she looked at the picture.

Caroline shrugged at that. "I talked to her this morning- she's working today."

"I'm sure she misses you as well."

She looked at him then, and he watched the sad smile on her face turn into something more. "Thank you," she said softly, before turning away from him and the picture and walking towards the door. "Now, let's get this over with."

He laughed at that, before following her out of the apartment and pulling the door shut behind him. "You're that excited, are you?" he joked, nudging her with his elbow as he narrowly slid around her, leaving her room to lock the door.

"You're the one making me come," she countered, though she didn't sound nearly as put-out as she was pretending to be.

Her choice of words had all sorts of images running through his mind, and he couldn't stop himself from chuckling. "You weren't complaining about that last night, love," he whispered into her ear, grabbing her waist and crowding her into the door as she attempted to lock it behind them.

She let him be for half a second, before she spun around and swatted his arm. "Really Klaus? We're going to dinner with your family."

"And?"

"And my boss is going to be there, so stop," she said indignantly, before she pushed past him and began walking down the hallway, calling, "Let's get this over with," over her shoulder as she went.

/

Of course Rebekah Mikaelson lived in the nicest apartment building she'd ever seen. Of course.

Despite having spent the whole ride there pestering Klaus for information on his family and what the night would entail, Caroline still felt dreadfully unprepared for the meal. She had no idea what her relationship was to Klaus, but the rest of his siblings were technically her bosses, which was awkward enough to begin with.

Apparently sensing her unease, Klaus reached out and placed a hand on her lower back as they rode the elevator up to the penthouse. "It'll be fine, love," he reassured her, not the least bit worried, which was only slightly comforting.

"If you say so," Caroline replied, not bothering to hide her disbelief, though she did lean back into his hand slightly, finding some comfort in the touch.

Noticing that, Klaus took a step closer to her, catching her eye as he did so. A mischievous glint had entered his eyes, and it was altogether way too attractive. "But if you're really that worried, then I'm sure I could just…" Klaus trailed off, reaching out in front of them, and hitting the red 'stop' button on the elevator, bring them to a standstill.

She turned to face him at that, and found that they were only inches apart. "What do you think you're doing?"

All he did was shrug and grab onto her waist with his other hand, bringing them even closer together. "We can't do to dinner if we're stuck in the elevator."

"This might be the worst idea you've ever had."

"Really? Because I think it might be one of the best."

His mouth was on hers before she knew what was happening, and she was more than okay with it. Caroline had quickly become very familiar with the way that Klaus moves, and moving in synch with him had never been a problem. With both of his hands on her hips, he'd pulled her body against his, causing warmth to seep through her. Everywhere their skin touched was on fire, and she wove her hands through his hair without thinking about it.

And then, just as Caroline was forgetting about what they were supposed to be doing, a loud beep echoed through the elevator, and a static filled voice asked, "Is everything all right in there?" over the speaker.

Caroline had jumped back at the surprise, and focused on straightening her hair, while Klaus simply looked on in amusement.

"You were right Klaus, what a great idea."

Still completely unfazed, Klaus winked at her. "Getting stuck in an elevator worked for me last night," he said, a smile still playing at the corner of his mouth.

"Oh yeah?" she asked, her anger dissipating as she looked at him.

"Definitely," he affirmed, ignoring her wary look and taking a step closer to her, this time reaching out a hand to cup the side of her face. "I got to spend the night with the most extraordinary woman, and now she's on a date with me."

She looked down before meeting his eyes again and, as usual, she didn't know what to make of the look on his face, but she liked it. "This isn't a date," she said firmly, but she didn't move away from him, and she didn't bother to hide her smile.

"Oh, did you think I was talking about you?"

He moved his hand at that, just in time for Caroline to swat it, through the laughter that burst out of her. "Fuck you, Klaus," she said, rolling her eyes and turning away from him, crossing her arms over her chest and waiting for the elevator to move again.

"We'll get to that, love," he breathed into her ear, pressing a lingering kiss to the side of her forehead that was facing him, before he reached around her and restarted the elevator. "But first, it's time for you to meet my family.

\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Klaus would have been worried about bringing anybody else to dinner with his family, but he had a feeling that Caroline would be able to hold her own.

He hadn't been lying when he'd told her that Elijah adored her- she was, by far, his best intern, and his older brother never stopped gushing about the girl. Rebekah didn't particularly like anybody from work, but he had a feeling that, given the chance to get to know her, she would adore Caroline as well. That only left Kol, who Klaus really wasn't worried about at all- he was a shit, but he was a shit to everybody, and Caroline likely already knew that.

Klaus was convinced that the dinner would go over well, but then Esther answered the door and all of his pleasant thoughts disappeared.

"Niklaus," she said, sounding altogether way too happy to see him, which only caused a rush of anger to run through him. "It's good to see you."

"Mother," Klaus responded, trying his best to keep his voice even, and failing drastically. Out of the corner of his eye he saw confusion growing on Caroline's face, but he ignored that. "What are you doing here?"

"Rebekah invited me…" the woman trailed off, reaching a hand out, which Klaus successfully dodged, "I haven't seen any of you in ages-"

"You made damn sure of that," he snapped, cutting her off, flinching slightly at the pained look on her face, but then looking away. "Caroline, we're leaving."

Of course, she choose that moment to question him. "What?"

"We. Are. Leaving." He was talking to Caroline, but his eyes were still trained on Esther's face, so he saw the look of doubt cross over it for the first time in their encounter, but he turned away from it. He didn't need her guilt, or whatever else she was feeling- he just needed to leave.

He grabbed Caroline's arm and sent her a look that kept her from questioning him again, and he was about to start walking away when Rebekah's voice broke out across the house. "Niklaus Mikaelson, don't even think about walking out that door."

He was tempted to ignore her and keep walking, but her footsteps were echoing throughout the apartment, and then she was in front of them. "Mother is my guest, and you will treat her as such. You will not ruin Christmas."

He had to laugh at that, but the sound was completely void of humor. "Looks like you've done a great job of that yourself," he spat at her, nodding his head towards Esther to emphasize his point.

"Says the one who brought an intern," Rebekah argued, as if even saying the word intern would poison her- as if being an intern was worse than being a mother who abandoned your children.

Caroline made a noise that was halfway between a gasp and a cough, but didn't say anything at that. Klaus was ready to wring his sister's neck, but he held himself back. "You will not bring her into this," he said, his voice lowering as he glared daggers into his sisters eyes until she looked away.

Klaus was, once again, ready to storm out of the apartment, until Elijah's voice interrupted his train of thought. "That's enough. You are making a scene."

Elijah didn't look at all happy with the events unfolding, but he also didn't look surprised.

"You knew about this," Klaus declared, looking past everybody else in the room and taking in his brother's betrayal. "You knew she'd be here and you didn't tell me."

"Nonsense," Elijah cut off that train of thought quickly, not giving Esther a second glance, even though they were talking about her. "I only found out when I got here. I just happened to react like a mature adult would, which seems to be a foreign concept to you lot. Now, Rebekah, mother, go finish dinner. Klaus, find Caroline a drink- god knows she'll need one before the night's through. And all of you, if you behave with even a semblance of dignity, we might survive the night."

/

Klaus was pacing the floor in front of her, and Caroline's head was spinning. They were currently the only ones in the sitting room- Esther and Rebekah were cooking, Elijah was supervising, Kol was pestering them, and Finn hadn't arrived yet- but she had no idea how long that would last, so she finally cracked.

"Klaus," she started, unsure of where she was going, but knowing that she had to say something sooner or later, "What was that about?"

It wasn't the most eloquent question, but it got his attention and he looked at her for the first time since he'd handed her a glass of wine and lead her to the couch. "That was my mother."

He was more agitated than she'd ever seen him, and it was slightly disconcerting. She was used to the calm and collected Klaus, who won every case with ease- not the one who lost his temper at the sight of his mother.

Still, she understood family drama, and she understood complicated relationships, so she didn't judge. "Do you want to leave?"

Apparently he hadn't been expecting that, because it surprised him into pausing. "Excuse me?"

"Do you want to leave?" she repeated her question, looking him in the eye this time, and trying to show him that she meant every word. "We could pick up Chinese food and watch a movie back at my place- I think I've got a bottle of wine somewhere… We don't have to stay."

He actually smiled at that, and for a second Caroline got her hopes up that they would be leaving, but the smile was sad and short lived. "Yes we do, but thanks anyways, love."

"Okay," Caroline nodded her head in agreement, before she continued, "But if we're staying, then you need to tell me what that was about. If I end up fighting somebody this evening, I would at least like to know why."

"You'd fight somebody for me?" he teased, clearly trying to distract her from the actual question.

"Not the point, Klaus."

"Fine. My mother…" he trailed off, apparently at a loss for words. He let out a sigh and took a seat on the couch beside her before he continued. "I haven't seen my mother since my father's trial, and I stopped speaking to her long before that."

"Do I get to know why?" she asked, trying to stay sympathetic, despite the fact that his vague explanations were getting old.

"Love, I-"

Caroline turned in her seat to see why Klaus had cut himself off, and found Esther standing in the doorframe. "Dinner's ready," she said, uncertainty in her tone and worry on her face, "Did I interrupt something?"

Klaus said 'yes' at the exact moment Caroline said, "No," at which point she sent him a quick glare, before turning back to Esther. "We'll be right there."

She watched Esther leave the room before she turned to Klaus, who had an indignant look painted all over his face. "She did interrupt us."

"Are you going to be like this all night?"

"You don't k-" Klaus started, before cutting himself off when Caroline let out an audible sigh. "I will try to be civil."

That was something. "Thank you," she said, before surprising herself and reaching out to grab his hand, wrapping her fingers around his and not letting go. "Now, let's get this over with."

\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Klaus was seated with Caroline on his left and Elijah on his right. He supposed it was for the best, because they were the two people he was least likely to kill. Especially because Caroline hadn't let go of his hand since they'd sat down, and it felt glorious.

Still, they all sat in silence while Rebekah attempted to carve the turkey, mostly just succeeding in butchering it. It was awkward, but he didn't care.

Caroline, on the other hand, seemed to be allergic to awkward, so he wasn't surprised when she broke the silence. "Everything looks delicious, Rebekah," she said sweetly, smiling at his sister- a gesture that wasn't returned.

"She's a woman of many talents," Elijah agreed moments later, after it became clear that Rebekah wasn't going to respond. Klaus had never been more grateful for his older brother's diplomacy.

Of course, Kol had to jump in. "Ah yes, our Bekah is a regular Martha Stewart- all she needs is a husband and 2.5 kids to complete the act!"

"Thank you, Kol," Rebekah finally spoke, though her words cut like a knife and were more a warning than anything, and that was accentuated by the way she tightened her grip on the carving knife in her hand.

"Any time, sis," Kol kept going, leaning his elbows on the table and sitting up a little bit straighter before he continued, with a sly grin on his face. "Say, what happened to that bloke you were seeing- Alexander, was it?"

Rebekah closed her eyes and pursed her lips together at that, letting out a slow breath to control her anger- it was a look that Klaus recognized. Unfortunately, Esther didn't catch onto it.

"Oh, are you seeing somebody darling?" she asked, excitement in her voice as she looked up at her daughter with hope in her eyes.

Rebekah let out another long breath before she replied. "We broke up months ago," she said in a strangled voice, "He thought I worked too much."

Esther deflated slightly, but didn't say anything to that, and Kol was clearly done with the conversation, leaving the room in another awkward silence. Of course. Caroline had to try and fill it.

"Oh my god, I've had the exact same problem more times than I can count- it's like guys just can't handle a woman who wants to take care of herself!"

The change of topic would have worked perfectly on anybody else, but Klaus knew his sister. Her eyes narrowed slightly, and he wasn't at all surprised when she let out a small laugh. "Says the girl who's dating one of her bosses?"

Klaus was ready to grab Caroline and storm out of the room, and the scandalized looks on his siblings faces told him that they wouldn't be far behind, but Caroline simply squeezed his hand in reassurance and looked Rebekah directly in the eye. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize that it had anything to do with you. Elijah is my boss, and Klaus is my friend. Is there a problem with that?"

If he noticed the way that Caroline hesitated before she said the word 'friend' then he tried not to dwell on it. Instead, he focused on the color draining out of Rebekah's face as the rest of his siblings tried not to laugh, with the exception of Kol, who laughed outright. A smile was even playing on the corner of Esther's mouth, but he ignored her entirely.

"No, I suppose there isn't," Rebekah gritted out, a forced smile taking over her face as she finally gave up on the turkey and sat down, fuming.

Klaus took the opportunity to squeeze Caroline's hand a little bit tighter, and he was more than happy when she returned the gesture almost instantly. He had definitely been right about one thing; if anybody could handle his family, it was Caroline.

/

After her initial confrontation with Rebekah (which Caroline was surprised she'd survived) the dinner seemed to go by smoothly.

Elijah had taken over in the small talk department, and eventually it had caught on with the rest of the family. Rebekah warmed up quicker than Caroline had thought possible, Kol continuously chimed in with juvenile comments, and even Finn offered up the occasional antidote, which was more than Caroline had ever heard from him in the past.

For his part, Klaus mostly sat back and listened, making it a point to not look at Esther, but Caroline also caught him smiling at his siblings more than once, which she took as a good sign.

It was only after everybody had finished eating and Rebekah had poured them each another glass of wine that Esther spoke up, clearing her throat to get everybody's attention. "If it's alright with our gracious host, I'd like to make a toast," she said, smiling at her daughter, who simply smiled back and nodded.

"Thank you darling," she continued, before standing and raising her glass. "I'd like us to toast to family- both old and new, and to those who are with us as well as to those who have passed on. To each and every one of my wonderful children, I am so proud of you. To Henrik, who will be in our hearts forever, and to Mikael, who-"

Klaus stood up, pushing away from the table and letting his chair fall to the ground with a thud. "Don't you dare speak of them in the same breath," he spat at his mother, who fell silent and set her glass down on the table.

"Klaus, I-"

She cut her response short when Klaus reached across the table, grabbed the bottle of wine sitting in the middle, and stormed out of the room.

Caroline sat very still, watching the people around her react. Esther sighed, pursing her lips together and looking genuinely upset. Rebekah ran a hand through her hair, before resting her elbows on the table and her head in her hands. Elijah was looking up at the ceiling, his posture more rigid than Caroline had ever seen it. Kol downed his glass of wine before shaking his head slightly, showing no sign of his usual smirk making a reappearance.

Caroline knew that she was intruding on a deeply personal moment, but she couldn't help but feel worried about Klaus. That worry was answered moments later, when the silence was broken by the sound of glass smashing in the other room- something that nobody else seemed surprised to hear.

"Excuse me," Caroline said to nobody in particular, pushing her chair back and leaving the room, not waiting for a response.

When she entered the kitchen she found Klaus leaning against the sink, a broken bottle scattered around him and blood pouring from one of his hands. He looked up upon hearing her enter, and something in his eyes made Caroline want to hug him and never let go. She couldn't do that, but she could do the next best thing.

"Come here," she said, gesturing for him to walk towards her, which he did without question. She then grabbed his elbow and turned down a hallway, leading to what she assumed was a washroom.

Apparently catching on to where they were going, Klaus paused right before Caroline walked past a door and nudged it open, revealing one of the most intricately decorated washrooms she had ever seen. In any other situation she would have taken the time to examine every detail of it, and then she would have sent pictures to Bonnie so that her friend could do the same, but there wasn't time for that.

"Sit," she instructed, guiding Klaus towards the counter, only facing minimal protest.

"Caroline-"

"Stop moving," she interrupted him, busying herself looking for something to stop the bleeding with, and coming up with a wash cloth that Rebekah could probably live without.

She grabbed his hand and wrapped it haphazardly, closing his fist around it to hold it in place. She was moving to turn around, when his free hand grabbed her waist, forcing her to stay in place.

"Caroline, would you just listen to me?"

She let out a sigh at that, but then she met his eyes and she couldn't bring herself to look away, so she waited for him to explain.

\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Klaus only felt slightly bad about the turn that the dinner had taken, because he'd predicted the outcome from the start. Mostly, he felt bad that Caroline had had to witness it, and he knew that he owed her an explanation.

"You must have questions," he started off slowly, not sure how to approach a topic that he hadn't spoken of in years.

The look on her face told him that she wasn't going to interrupt him or voice any of those questions, but he knew that she was listening.

"Henrik was my youngest brother. He died ten years ago when he was eleven." That got her attention, but he couldn't handle her pity so he kept talking. "He was sick for a long time. Mikael was at the bar across the street from the hospital the night he died."

Caroline had stopped fiddling with his hand at that point and, when he finally found it in him to look at her, she was staring right back at him. "I had no idea," she said faintly, though there was no trace of pity to be found.

"It's not something I talk about," he admitted with a shrug, most of his anger having washed away and left resignation in its path. "I'm sorry you had to see that."

She looked like she had more to say but thought better of it at the last moment, which Klaus was infinitely grateful for. He could only handle so much talk of family before he cracked, which was something he'd already done more than once in the past few hours.

Instead, a small smile found its way onto her face and she nudged his leg with her hip from where she was standing, slightly between his parted legs. "Please, that was nothing- you haven't seen family drama until you've been to Mystic Falls."

"Good to know I've got something to look forward to then," he joked lightly, more than grateful for the change of topics.

She flushed at that comment, and Klaus was convinced that it was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. "Oh yeah, my mom will love you."

"Of course she will- most mother's adore me," he said, a dark look passing through his eyes when he said 'most,' which Caroline noticed and decided to ignore.

"She's a sheriff and you make your living keeping bad guys out of jail- you sure about that?" she asked, the smile on her face telling him that she wasn't being entirely serious.

"I can be very charming when I put my mind to it."

"Oh, is that what they're calling it these days?" she countered, tilting her head to the side and squinting her eyes to add a dramatic effect to the comment.

He took a moment to laugh at her joke, before he tightened his grip on her waist and abruptly pulled her towards him, causing her to trip slightly and land with both of her hands pressed against his chest. When she looked up at him through lidded eyes Klaus was half tempted to shut the bathroom door and take her right there, but he caught himself, because she deserved better.

Instead, he smirked slightly and asked, "Are you still pretending you're not interested in me, love?"

Her eyes widened at that, but she was still as stubborn as ever. "I didn't realize I was pretending," she said with raised eyebrows and a sparkle in her eyes, contradicting her words by staying exactly where she was.

She was infuriating, and Klaus expected nothing less. He chuckled at that, the air that left his mouth grazing her face and moving her hair. He went to say, "Whatever you say, sweetheart," but was cut off by her mouth crashing into his.

/

Caroline didn't care that they were in Rebekah's bathroom, and she didn't care that Klaus' bleeding hand was still between them, and she didn't care that most of his family was in the next room- his smirk was enough to do her in, so she kissed him to shut him up, and then she didn't stop.

His hand on her waist was holding her close, and his other was occupied, but she used both of her hands to grab his face, making sure that he didn't move away. She bit his lower lip, and raked a hand through his hair, and slid her tongue into his mouth, loving the taste of him. A part of her knew that he was letting her take control, which thrilled her and sent a shock of warmth rushing to her core.

He moved his injured hand off to the side and she took the opportunity to close the last of the distance between them, pressing her body against his and grinding slightly against the growing bulge in his pants. He let out a low moan at that, and it was possibly the sexiest thing she'd ever heard.

She let one of her hands linger on the back of his neck, keeping him close, while the other slowly started trailing down his side. It had almost found its destination, when the bathroom door suddenly swung open.

"REALLY NIK? IN MY BATHROOM?" Rebekah yelled, interrupting them and surprising Caroline into jumping back, though she didn't get very far, as Klaus still had a firm grip on her lower back.

Of course, Klaus didn't have the decency to look ashamed. "Sorry Bekah," he shrugged, not sound apologetic in the slightest, "You should have knocked, I guess."

Rebekah let out a strangled laugh at that, looking the two of them up and down, which only caused Caroline's cheeks to turn a brighter shade of red- she knew what it must have looked like, and she was beyond embarrassed.

Rebekah waved that off, looking and sounding impatient. "Whatever. Mother left. We're going to watch a movie. Clean yourselves up and join us."

With that, the girl spun around and left, making a point of leaving the bathroom door wide open as she went.

Caroline didn't know what to say, until she looked back towards Klaus and saw that his typical, shit eating grin was back on his face. "This isn't funny," she swatted at his arm, holding back a smile as she tried not to laugh at the situation.

"It's a little bit funny," Klaus countered, shifting off of the counter and taking a step closer to her. "Now, where were we?"

"No," Caroline protested, taking a step back and holding her hands up in warning, "That is not happening again."

Klaus rolled his eyes, but stopped where he was. "So you're telling me that you'd rather watch a movie with my siblings, than let me fuck you over the counter?"

Her breath caught at that and she had become even more aware of the warmth that was pooled between her thighs, but then she heard the sound of laughter coming from the other room and she shook herself out of it.

She took a small step forward and closed the distance between them, placing a hand on his shoulder and leaning up so that she could whisper in his ear. "No, what I'm saying that I'd rather watch a movie with your siblings right now, and then have you fuck me as many times as you can handle when we get home tonight."

She felt his entire body tense under her hand as she pulled away from his ear and placed a lingering, open mouthed kiss on his cheek, before she pulled back entirely and walked out of the room, swaying her hips as dramatically as possible the whole time.

\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Caroline was possibly the closest to perfection that Klaus had ever come and, sitting on the loveseat in his sister's living room with her curled up underneath his arm and a movie playing in the background, he was starkly aware of that fact.

There had been a lot of debate over what movie they would watch, with Rebekah and Caroline choosing Love, Actually, while Klaus and Kol both voted for Die Hard, while Elijah continually insisted that he would be happy either. Eventually the girls had one, because Caroline was the guest, and Rebekah owned the house and, frankly, Klaus couldn't have cared less.

With Caroline by his side, he felt more at home than he had in a long time, and he loved it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OKAY, I know I said I was willing to write a 'short epilogue' but I got into it, and it just kind of got away from me, and then suddenly there were 5000+ words and WAY more angst than I had planned, so I hope it was alright! I would have liked to have spent more time on it, but Christmas is tomorrow and I've got plans all evening, so this is the best I could do!
> 
> I'm glad you guys enjoyed the first part, and I hope you also liked this one! Please let me know what you think- reviews are always appreciated!
> 
> (ALSO, I'm slowly becoming super attached to this universe, so there's a chance a part 3 will be coming...)


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> New Years Eve!

Klaus' bed was quickly becoming Caroline's favourite place to be, and she had no intentions of leaving it for the rest of the year.

It was warm, and he had more pillows than she could count and, best of all, he was there with her, currently trailing wet, open mouthed kisses down her stomach.

She had one hand in his hair, pulling it tighter every time he hit a particularly sensitive spot, and the other was clutching the discarded sheets beside her. She couldn't help but let out a long, strangled noise when he stopped moving his mouth just before he got to where she needed him.

"Problem, love?" he asked, looking up at her through lidded eyes, with an overly confident smirk on his face, and a lilt in his voice that told her he knew exactly what he was doing to her.

She let out a long, frustrated sigh at that. "Klaus," she protested, rolling her hips up underneath him, trying anything to get closer, even if it just made him smirk more and move his hands to her hips so that he could hold her down.

"Patience, love," he muttered, the air from the words brushing across her skin exactly where she wanted his mouth to be, and sending shivers down her spine.

She was about to protest again, when he finally lowered his mouth and flicked his tongue across her clit, sending shockwaves of pleasure throughout her body. She wanted him closer, and she wanted him there now, so she lifted a leg and draped it over his shoulder, trying desperately to get his tongue back on her.

"Tell me what you want, love," he insisted, his voice low and gravelly and, combined with his accent, almost more than she could handle.

"Klaus," she pleaded, slightly embarrassed at what he wanted her to say and just how desperate her voice sounded, even though it was far from the first time they'd done this.

Of course, Klaus wouldn't let her off the hook that easily. "Come on love," he said softly, finding altogether way too much pleasure in torturing her, as his breath tickled over her core but did nothing to actually satisfy her.

"Klaus, please, touch me," she finally demanded, her voice strangled and her cheeks flushed bright red as the words came out of her mouth and he reacted immediately.

His mouth was back on her clit, his teeth biting down gently before his tongue swept over it soothingly, the contrast sending waves of pleasure throughout her body. He'd also moved one of his hands off of her waist, and was brushing a finger across her opening, and then it was inside of her and all she wanted was more.

She was about to beg for just that when, somewhere in the back of her mind, she registered a sound coming from outside of his room, and then a woman's voice broke through the silence.

/

More than anything, Klaus loved having Caroline on his bed, writhing underneath him, begging for more. She was beautiful, and magnetic, and he loved that he got to see her fall apart.

And then she was pushing him away, and he heard Rebekah call out, "Nik, it's me," from somewhere inside of his apartment.

He saw the panicked look on Caroline's face, and muttered, "Shit," to himself, before he took in the situation and realized that he definitely didn't want his sister walking into the room, so he yelled, "I'll be out in a second," and scrambled out of bed, searching for their clothing.

Of course, Rebekah had never been one to wait around patiently, and she was already at the door by the time he said that. "Jesus CHRIST, you could have warned me," she yelled at them, covering her eyes and turning her back, but not moving out of the room.

"And you could have knocked," Klaus replied wryly, grabbing his pants off the floor and pulling them on, before he found a shirt and tossed it towards Caroline, who had scrambled under his covers and currently had them pulled up to her neck, with a sheepish look on her face.

"You're the one who gave me a key," Rebekah countered, leaning against the doorframe and making herself at home, facing away from them.

"For emergencies," he stressed, not bothering to hide how exasperated he was with the whole situation, which Rebekah made a point of ignoring.

"Yeah, well, I didn't expect anybody to be here with you," she said easily, before adding, "I thought you'd be done with her by now," with a shrug to accentuate her point.

Caroline let out a strangled laugh at that, and Klaus felt a wave of anger roll over him at the comment.

"Rebekah," he started, straining to keep himself from yelling, "Get out. Now."

She actually had the nerve to sigh at that, before she shrugged and said, "Fine. I'll be in the kitchen," and marched out of the room.

With her gone, he looked back over to Caroline, with what he hoped was an apologetic smile on his face. For her part, Caroline had her lips pursed together and her eyebrows raised.

"What is she doing here?"

The look on the blonde's face told him not to test her, so he let out a long sigh before he said, "I don't know, love."

Caroline did roll her eyes this time, before she pushed the covers aside and stood, revealing her bare legs, which she quickly covered with the jean's she'd been wearing when she'd arrived the day before.

"Well then, let's go find out."

\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Most of the time, Caroline could tolerate Rebekah Mikaelson, but not when she walked in on her and Klaus. She wanted the woman gone, and she wanted her gone now, and she knew that sending Klaus to get rid of her wouldn't do any good, so she marched out of his room and towards the kitchen.

"Rebekah," she smiled pleasantly when she got there, finding the woman sitting by the table with a glass of water she'd poured herself.

"Caroline," Rebekah returned the greeting, eyes raking up and down Caroline's body, clearly judging her dishevelled appearance. That alone, was enough to infuriate Caroline, but she refrained from saying anything.

Luckily, Klaus had come in behind her. "What is it that you want, Bekah?" he asked, his tone not exactly friendly, though it was nicer than anything Caroline would have managed, and for that she was grateful.

"I'm here to get you," Rebekah said simply, "It is New Year's Eve, after all. What, you get some blonde to sleep with you more than once, and suddenly you forget all of our family traditions?"

Caroline faltered at that. She caught the insult, and she didn't want to let it slide, but first she looked to Klaus for explanation. "Family traditions?" she prompted, after he stayed silent for several moments.

Of course, Rebekah never missed an opportunity to talk, and she jumped to explain. "We always ring in the New Year together, as a family," she said, her emphasis on the word family not getting past Caroline. "Apparently Klaus forgot about us this year."

That piqued Caroline's attention. Her and her mom didn't have very many family traditions, and she'd always wondered if things would be different if she had siblings. "What do you do?" she asked, turning towards Rebekah and away from Klaus entirely.

"Back when we were kids we'd watch movies and stuff our faces with whatever we could convince our parents to buy- nowadays, we just find a club and get shitfaced," Rebekah shrugged.

"That sounds nice," Caroline replied wistfully, meaning it.

Rebekah apparently noticed that, because she smiled then. "It is," she agreed, before adding, "You're welcome to join us, if you want- it would be nice to have another girl around for once."

Caroline was about to say yes, but then she realized that she might be overstepping, so she looked back to Klaus with raised eyebrows, to see what he had to say.

For his part, he simply rolled his eyes and let out a sigh. "Fine, let's go," he agreed, not sounding at all enthusiastic, though a smile did play at the corners of his mouth, indicating otherwise.

/

Klaus was a world class criminal lawyer. He won all of his cases, and he was feared by more people then he could count, and yet he couldn't manage to say no to Caroline.

Truthfully, he hadn't forgotten about his family's tradition- he'd just have preferred to spend the last bit of the year in bed with Caroline.

Leave it to Rebekah to show up and make him feel bad about it, and leave it to Caroline to actually want to spend time with his dysfunctional family.

At the moment, he was sitting in the kitchen, waiting for the girls to appear. He'd gotten ready quickly, throwing on a pair of jeans and the first shirt he could find and a leather jacket over top, running a hand through his hair before deciding that it was fine. It was taking Caroline a lot longer to prepare.

Her and Rebekah were currently in his guest room, where Rebekah kept some spare clothing, trying to find something for Caroline to wear, and Klaus was starting to get impatient. He was positive that she would look beautiful in whatever they found, and he really just wanted to get the whole night over with, and then she came walking down the hall and he was speechless.

Every inch of her dress was covered in golden sparkles that played with the light wherever it fell. It was a little bit too loose on her, but still fit well enough to accentuate every one of her curves and hug her figure, and it fell about a quarter of the way down her thighs, leaving most of her legs exposed. She'd paired it with a pair of ridiculously high heels, and a leather jacket, topping the whole look off by leaving her hair as it was before, curly and hopelessly disheveled.

He made it a point to stare at her, and she clearly noticed.

"What do you think?" she asked, holding her arms out slightly and looking down at herself, before she looked back up at him, biting her lower lip.

Klaus was across the room and in front of her in seconds, one hand on her waist and the other moving a lock of hair behind her ear. "You are the most beautiful thing I have ever seen," he said softly, trying to convey just how much he meant the words.

From behind her, he heard Rebekah clear her throat, but he didn't bother to move away from Caroline.

"You two are disgusting," his sister muttered, but she did so in good nature, and Klaus could tell that Caroline was quickly growing on the girl.

For her part, Caroline had flushed at their exchange. Choosing that moment to become modest, she took a step back, but held firmly onto his hand.

"Come on, let's go."

\\\\\\\\\\\\\

The ride to the club mostly consisted of Caroline and Rebekah exchanging notes on fashion, and Klaus staring out the window, while Caroline tried her best to ignore him. That became difficult when he decided to rest his hand particularly high up on her bare thigh, reminding her of their unfinished business.

Still, it was New Year's Eve, and she looked hot, and she planned on having fun, even though she hadn't originally planned on going out.

Despite that, she faltered slightly when they pulled up the one of the most elite clubs in the city.

Caroline looked to Klaus for confirmation that they were in the right place, and he simply opened the car door and stepped out, waiting for her to follow.

Rebekah was a couple of steps ahead of them already, heading straight for the front of the line that worked its way down the street.

Caroline felt her eyebrows raise even higher than they'd been before, but all Klaus did was place a hand on the small of her back and use it to guide her forward, whispering, "This way, love," into her ear as he did so.

They walked past the line and the bouncer let them in without question. The inside was dark, and loud, and crowded. Everywhere she looked, people were moving and dancing to the throbbing beat of the music, illuminated by the flashing lights that were coming from just about every direction.

She turned to comment on it to Klaus and found that he was already looking back at her, despite everything else going on around them. For some reason, Caroline smiled at that, and reached up to place a quick kiss on his cheek, before pulling back.

He smiled at that, before saying, "Come on, let's find the others," and grabbed her hand, leading her further into the club.

/

Elijah and Kol were exactly where Klaus thought they'd be, sitting in their usual booth, with drinks in hand, greeting Rebekah, who'd arrived at the table moments before they did. Both of them seemed to perk up when they noticed Caroline was with him.

"Nik, you didn't tell us you were bringing your lovely friend," Kol greeted them, his usual shit-eating grin on his face.

Klaus wanted nothing more than to smack it off and never let him look at Caroline again, but for her part, she just laughed.

"It's good to see you too, Kol," she said, far more civilly than necessary, before turning to his other brother, who at least had the decency to look ashamed of Kol. "You as well, Elijah."

"It's always a pleasure, Caroline," Elijah agreed, at which point Rebekah let out a brief laugh, before rolling her eyes.

"Alright," she said, looking from one brother to the next, before settling her eyes on Caroline and ignoring Klaus altogether, "If you four are done with pleasantries, we need drinks."

Beside him, Caroline giggled slightly at that. "Agreed," she said, which was apparently all the invitation Rebekah needed, to grab her by the arm and pull her in the direction of the bar. She sent an apologetic look over her shoulder at Klaus, but then she was gone and he was left with his brothers.

"So Niklaus," Kol started, "That's two family events you've brought her to in almost a week; must be serious."

Rather than denying his feelings for Caroline, he simply levelled his brother's gaze. "You'd do well to remember it," he said evenly, leaving no room for misinterpretation.

"Right then," Kol broke the stare-down first, turning to Elijah with the grin back on his face, "Looks like you and Bekah owe me fifty bucks."

Elijah was far too proper to roll his eyes, but he certainly looked like he wanted to when he reached for his wallet and pulled out his half of the money, without saying a word.

"What was that about?"

"Well, brother, we had a bit of a bet going- Bekah thought you'd skip out on us altogether, Elijah here figured that you'd show up for a bit, and I reckoned you'd be here with Caroline," Kol explained, ignoring the glare that Elijah sent his way.

"Of course you did," Klaus rolled his eyes, not entirely surprised about the whole thing- he'd taken part in similar bets with his siblings in the past, after all. "I suppose I should thank the two of you for having such faith in me."

"Anytime, brother," Kol agreed, his phony enthusiasm enough to prompt a laugh out of Klaus, and something close to that out of Elijah. It was then that he got distracted by something behind them, and nodded his head in the general direction. "Hey, looks like your girl's found a friend."

\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Rebekah and Caroline had ordered drinks for themselves and Klaus, and were leaning against the bar waiting for them, when a familiar voice appeared in Caroline's ear.

"Caroline Forbes?"

"Jeremy Gilbert? Are you even old enough to be here?" Caroline exclaimed, shock washing over her as she took in her best friend's baby brother, all grown up and standing in front of her in a bar, of all places. Rather than waiting for a response, she threw her arms around him and pulled him in for a hug, before stepping back to get another look at him.

"Yeah, yeah," he agreed, waving off her affections as a blush crept up his cheeks, "It's good to see you too."

"But what are you doing here?" she demanded, cutting herself off when a familiar face peered over his shoulder, and she panicked because Elena Gilbert could not be there. If Elena was there, Damon was there, and she could not deal with that.

But then the girl spoke, and Caroline realized her mistake.

"Why, he's visiting his favourite sister, of course," Katherine drawled out, draping one arm across her brother's shoulders and looking Caroline up and down, with a hint of mischief in her eyes.

Caroline couldn't stop the wave of relief that washed over her when she realized that it was Katherine and not the girls twin, Elena, so she also pulled her in for a hug.

"You would take your baby brother to a bar on New Year's Eve," Caroline admonished, though they all knew she wasn't actually judging- while her and Kat had never been as good of friends as her and Elena had, they'd grown to tolerate each other over the years, and they'd come to an understanding long ago. They'd both grown up in the shadow of Elena, and they'd both spent their lives trying to escape. Caroline had done everything in her power to beat Elena at everything, while Katherine rebelled completely. Despite their different methods, at the end of the day, they were more similar than either would admit.

"Come on Care, Little Gilbert here is all grown up," Katherine insisted, reaching up to ruffle his hair, causing him to duck out from under her arm, and Caroline and Katherine to break out into laughter.

It was then that Rebekah cleared her throat, pulling Caroline's attention away from the Gilbert's.

Caroline couldn't help but wince at how rude she'd been, ignoring Rebekah entirely, so she tried to remedy the situation.

"Guys, this is Rebekah, my- we work at the same place," Caroline cut off her introduction, not entirely knowing what Rebekah was to her. She shook her head slightly, and continued nonetheless, "Rebekah, this is Katherine, and this is Jeremy- we all grew up together!"

"It's a pleasure," Rebekah said, the small smile on her face the only indication that she actually meant the words, before she nodded her head towards the drinks on the bar in front of her, and picked up two. "I'm going back to our table."

"Right," Caroline agreed, before making a spur of the moment decision. "Do you guys want to join us?"

Rebekah let out a small sigh at that, which Caroline choose to ignore. Jeremy looked hesitant to take her up on the offer, but Caroline rolled her eyes and looked to Katherine, who simply shrugged.

"Lead the way, Care."

/

Caroline and Rebekah were headed back to the table, and the boy she'd hugged was coming with them. Klaus was not jealous. He was not jealous. He was irritated, but that was nothing new.

And then they were standing in front of them.

"Everybody, these are my friends from back home- Katherine and Jeremy," Caroline introduced them, suddenly sounding nervous, but continuing anyways. "I hope you don't mind, but I invited them to join us."

The girl- Katherine- took that as an invitation to slip past Rebekah and slide herself into the booth beside Kol, who was the first to speak up.

"Not a problem at all, love," he said, before turning to Katherine and holding out a hand. "Kol Mikaelson, it's a pleasure to meet you."

For her part, the girl looked Kol up and down, before ignoring the hand completely. "You too," she said, tilting her drink towards him, before she turned away and downed half of it in one go.

The boy- Jeremy- seemed to have more manners than the girl, and waited until everybody else had taken a seat before he sat down, on the other side of Caroline. Klaus took the opportunity to wrap an arm around her shoulder and pull her into his side, before taking a long sip out of his drink.

"So, how do you all know each other?" Elijah asked, breaking the silence that had fallen with the question that seemed to be on everybody's mind.

"Kat and I went to school together- I used to be best friends with her sister," Caroline jumped to explain, but then faltered slightly before picking herself back up. "Jeremy's her baby brother."

That was an explanation that Klaus was glad to hear, but Jeremy apparently disagreed.

"Come on Care- I've been taller than you since we were 12," he protested, gaining a sympathetic look from Kol and a chuckle from the rest of them. "I think I've earned the right to just be Elena and Kat's brother- not baby brother."

"And you two live here as well now?" Elijah prompted, asking more questions than he usually would, and clearly addressing them to Katherine, which was strange for him- normally Kol was the one jumping on pretty girls.

"I do," Katherine answered, "Jer's just visiting for the holidays- turns out New York is a lot more fun than Mystic Falls."

"Are you still at that art school in New Mexico?" Caroline asked then, directing the question towards the boy, who perked up upon being addressed.

"Yeah, I've got one semester left," he answered quickly, piquing Klaus' interest.

"What school is that?" he asked, joining the conversation easily.

"Santa Fe University of Art and Design?"

"I've heard good things about them," Klaus said conversationally, recalling the acceptance letter he'd received from the school, and how he'd ended up declining it, along with many others.

"Right, well, not to be rude," Kol interrupted, indicating that he was about to do the exact opposite, "But all this talk of school is downright depressing. I finally got out of it last year, and I'm doing everything I can to forget the whole experience- would you just let me?"

Everybody at the table laughed at that, expect for Elijah, who would probably never get used to how crass Kol could be.

"That's understandable," Jeremy agreed, before asking, "What did you study?"

"Law- the whole lot of us did," Kol said, making it sound far less impressing than it actually was. "That's how we met our dear Caroline, actually."

\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Caroline wasn't exactly embarrassed that she was in some sort of relationship with somebody who could be considered her boss, but she also wasn't entirely proud of it, and she knew how Katherine would see it.

The girl's interest piqued when Kol mentioned that they'd met through law, and her eyebrows shot up, as if she could smell a scandal from a mile away. "Oh really?"

"Indeed," Kol said, playing along with the whole thing, and taking way too much joy in it, "She's one of Elijah's best interns."

Caroline had expected laughter, and for a few salacious comments to be made upon the revelation, but was surprised to see that Katherine abruptly narrowed her eyes, and directed the look towards Klaus.

Her gaze was level, and she held in for several moments, until it became awkward, and she turned to Caroline. "I need to pee. Come with me."

Caroline furrowed her brow at that, but decided it was best to play along. "Alright- uhm, excuse us, please- sorry," she said to the group, and then to Klaus, and then to Jeremy, who she had to crawl over to get out of the booth.

Caroline trailed behind Katherine, making their way to the washroom. When they got there, Katherine spun around, startling Caroline into stopping.

"Kat, what's g-"

"Is he like Damon?" Katherine demanded, cutting Caroline off and stunning her into silence, as she registered the question. Her answer didn't come quick enough for Katherine, whose face was pure stone at the moment, so she continued. "He's your boss. Is he taking advantage of you?"

"I- no," Caroline stuttered, confused by the turn that the conversation had taken. "He's- no."

"You're sure?" Katherine asked, her hands resting on Caroline's shoulders as she searched her face, looking for something that Caroline knew wasn't there.

"I'm sure- Kat, he's technically not even my boss and he- Klaus would never hurt me," Caroline insisted, knowing that she was telling the truth, before a realization washed over her. "Wait- I never told you that we were together- I don't even know if we are together. How did you…?"

Katherine laughed at that, her serious demeanor fading into her normal, casual one. "Please, Care- the man hasn't stopped looking at you since you sat down- or touching you, for that matter. It's sickening."

Caroline rolled her eyes at that. She had a feeling that Klaus had been somewhat jealous of the attention she was directing towards Jeremy, and Katherine's observation confirmed it.

"Right," Caroline laughed, before it faded away and she felt something else creeping up. It was like nostalgia, but it left something dark in the pit of her stomach, and she couldn't shake it. "But Kat- about Damon…"

"Don't," Katherine cut her off then, shaking her head and looking away, "Look, I dated him before you- I know what he's like, and I know how he treats people. But we don't have to talk about that, alright?"

"Alright," Caroline agreed quietly, smiling softly, trying to hide how sad the gesture actually was. Taking lead from Katherine, she shook her head and snapped herself out of it. "Come on- we should head back."

/

Kol had pulled Jeremy away from the table soon after Katherine and Caroline left, insisting that he needed a new wingman because apparently Klaus and Elijah were no longer worthy of the position- not that either of them were particularly upset about the demotion.

It left him at the table with Elijah and Rebekah, so he got to watch with great amusement as Rebekah eyed Elijah until he finally cracked and asked, "Is there a problem, Rebekah?"

"Oh no," Rebekah said, shaking her head before giving him a pointed look and continuing, "I was just trying to figure out what you, of all people, see in that Katherine girl, but please, don't mind me."

For his part, Klaus simply raised his eyebrows and sat back to watch the exchange.

"Did it ever cross your mind that we may not all by thoughtless elitists?" Elijah shot back, prompting an abrupt laugh out of both Rebekah and Klaus, which he protested immediately. "I don't see what's so funny."

"Nothing, nothing at all," Klaus insisted, while Rebekah took a drink from her glass, putting it down only when it was empty.

"I need another drink. I'll be back."

She left swiftly after that, though Klaus and Elijah weren't alone for long, as Katherine and Caroline drifted back over to the table.

"Everything okay, love?" Klaus whispered into Caroline's ear, once his arm was back around her shoulder and she was glued to his side.

She nodded into his chest, but he felt like something was off. Before he could ask for confirmation, Katherine spoke up.

"So tell me, how is my little Caroline faring in the big city?"

He felt Caroline's shoulder's shake, indicating that she was laughing, before she asked, "Really, Kat?"

"What? I worry," Katherine insisted and, through the smile on the girls face and the dramatic wink that she sent Elijah's way, Klaus could tell that there was some truth behind the words.

"Well don't," Caroline cut her off, and ignored the statement, opting to change the subject. "You never did say what you're doing here though."

"Oh, you know, same old story," Katherine rolled her eyes and brushed it off before continuing, "I went to college, I dropped out, I backpacked around the world, my parents cut me off, I moved here and got a job as a bartender- the usual."

"But you got out of Mystic Falls," Caroline said, "That was always the goal, right?"

"I'll drink to that," Katherine agreed, lifting her drink and clinking glasses with Caroline, before they both emptied their drinks.

"What are we drinking to?" Rebekah asked, sliding back into her seat beside Katherine, and placing a tray of shot glasses in front of them.

"Escaping Hell," Katherine said, prompting another laugh from Caroline and a confused look from Rebekah.

"Alright then," Rebekah said, rolling her eyes but not questioning it, before she indicated that everybody should take a glass. Katherine did so willingly, before handing one to Elijah, who accepted it with more ease than he normally would. Caroline grabbed hers, while Klaus opted to pass. "To escaping Hell."

\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Katherine's questioning had shaken Caroline more than she wanted to admit, but the drinks helped with that.

First there was the gin and tonic, and then the shot of something that tasted suspiciously like tequila, and then another, and then another, and then she lost track, but she didn't care because they made her feel good, and that was all that mattered.

They stayed at the table for a while, making idle small talk and getting to know each other more. Klaus didn't say much at all, but his arm stayed where it was around her shoulders, and his other hand occasionally wandered down to her bare thigh to trace patterns, and she felt warm and happy and at home.

If anybody noticed then they didn't say anything, and she was grateful for it.

But the alcohol did hit her eventually, and she couldn't stop herself from eying the dancefloor, and of course, Kat noticed that.

"Come on, let's dance!" she exclaimed, before reaching across the table and grabbing Caroline's hand, pulling her up and out of the booth with her, before casting a glance back at Rebekah. "You coming?"

Caroline noticed the way Rebekah perked up at that, and it was nice to see the girl happy, so she grabbed her hand and pulled her along with them, not waiting for an answer.

Once the girls were on the dancefloor, they realized that there wasn't much room for dancing, but that really didn't faze any of them- instead, they threw their hands in the air, and swayed back and forth with everything inside of them.

Generally speaking, Caroline was a busy person. She was in law school, she had her internship, and neither of those things left her with very much spare time. Because of that, she hadn't been out in what seemed like forever and, all of a sudden, she realized how much she'd missed it all. The dancing with friends, and the drinking, and the music, and the feeling of being connected with so many people. She loved it, and it left her practically delirious.

Kol and Jeremy joined their little group soon after they started, so she turned to Jer and dropped her hands down onto his shoulders, throwing her head back to laugh at the absurdity of the situation.

Out of all of the people Caroline had expected to ring in the New Year with, Jeremy and Katherine Gilbert were not on the list, but seeing them reminded her of how much she missed everybody back home.

For his part, Jeremy reached out and let his hands rest safely on her hips, a smile on his face saying that he felt the same way- they'd never been close, but being around old friends in a new place was always nice, so they danced.

/

Watching Caroline dance was hypnotizing.

The way she moved to the music, and the way she laughed and smiled the whole time, and the way everything about her somehow was just a little bit brighter than everything else around her, was enough to put Klaus in a trance.

That trance was quickly broken when that boy- Jeremy- joined her, putting his stupid hands all over her.

Klaus was out of his seat in a second. He vaguely noted that Elijah was following behind him, but he didn't particularly care.

And then he was across the floor, and he reached out to tap the boy on his shoulder, crossing his arms as he turned around.

"Mind if I cut in?" Klaus asked, his voice carrying loudly above the music, and making it clear that he wasn't really asking at all.

"Be my guest," Jeremy agreed, taking a step back and raising both of his hands up, before sending a crooked smile in Caroline's direction. "I'm going to grab another drink."

Caroline smiled back at him, and then he was gone and Klaus was relieved.

He closed the distance between them in an instant, letting his hands fall on the small of her back and pulling her as close to him as possible, before leaning in and whispering, "And do you mind, love?"

She laughed lightly at that, before reaching up to place her hands on either shoulder, just behind his neck, and grinding her body against him in response.

Klaus laughed darkly at that, before he placed a kiss on her cheek and warned her, "Trust me love, that's not a game you want to play right now."

Caroline smirked at him then, looking up at him through lidded eyes before she repeated the action, causing him to let out a muffled groan at the contact. "Oh really?" she asked, and then she was kissing him, her lips on his mouth, wet and wanting and insatiable.

A part of Klaus reacted immediately, a hand grabbing onto the back of her head so that he could guide her actions as his tongue found its way into her mouth and she moaned in response, but an even bigger part of him knew that he couldn't continue.

"Caroline, love," he pulled back reluctantly moments later, waiting until she opened her eyes and blinked a few times before he continued, "You're drunk."

She rolled her eyes at that, and let out an indignant sigh. "I am not," she insisted, "I only had… like... a few drinks, alright?"

"Did it ever cross your mind that you might be a lightweight?" he laughed gently, still holding her close to him, and watching a slew of emotions cross over her face.

She looked like she was trying to form a response, but eventually settled on spitting out a half-hearted, "Fuck you," and leaning her head against his chest.

Klaus had to laugh at that, before he whispered, "Another time, love," into her ear, and continued swaying back and forth to the music, for both of them.

\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Caroline's head was spinning but somehow, leaning against Klaus with his arms around her and hers around him, she felt incredibly grounded.

The music was loud, but it was distant, and she knew they were surrounded by hundreds of people, but she didn't really care about any of them.

And then they started counting down, and she lifted her head to join them.

10

9

8

7

6

5

She was smiling then, and he was smiling back at her, and she kept chanting, because suddenly she couldn't wait for what would happen when they reached the end.

4

3

2

1

The room erupted into cheers, even louder than it had been before, and balloons were falling from the ceiling, and another song was playing, but Caroline only had eyes for Klaus.

Her hands were back in his hair, and she stood on her toes, and he met her half way, and then they were kissing. It was soft, and chaste, and she wanted more, but he pulled back.

"Happy New Year, love," he said softly, kissing her forehead, and then pulling him back into his chest, this time for a hug.

Caroline was more than unsatisfied with that being her first kiss of the year, but then she felt somebody tap her on the shoulder, and she was pulled away from him by Katherine, who had a surprised looking Elijah left behind her.

Katherine was smiling brighter than usual, and it was contagious, and then they were dancing again, and Klaus was there, and it was perfect.

/

Klaus got Caroline out of the club and into a cab only a few hours after midnight, and she'd barely protested.

He'd given the driver her address, and then settled into the backseat beside her, entirely unsurprised when she rested her head on his shoulder and fell asleep moments later.

When they got to her apartment, Klaus paid the man, and then assessed the situation.

He could wake her up, but he really didn't think that it would do any good or make anything easier, so instead he slipped out of the cab and then reached back in, picking her up and carrying her the rest of the way.

She was light and soft and he practically melted when she curled her head into his shoulder, and grabbed onto his jacket with one of her hands.

It was only when they got to her door that Klaus had to wake her.

"Come on love, we're going to need your keys to do the rest of this," he prodded gently, shaking her lightly, and placing her feet on the ground when she looked conscious, though he still held up most of her weight.

"Just let me sleep," she muttered, burying her face into his shoulder and throwing her arms around his neck, latching on.

"Not quite yet, sweetheart," he muttered, keeping one hand wrapped firmly around her waist, while the other went straight to her pockets, finding the keys.

The next step was to get her into her bed. Klaus quickly gave up on trying getting her to walk, and opted to lift her up again, before going straight to the bedroom, and depositing her in the bed.

He pulled her shoes off, but that was all of the undressing he was willing to do. After that, he simply pulled the covers up over her neck, and went to grab her a glass of water.

When he came back, she'd curled up into a ball, and seemed to be fast asleep, and Klaus took that as his queue to leave.

He bent down and pressed a light kiss on her forehead, not wanting to disturb her, before whispering, "Goodnight, love," and turning to walk out.

He was half way to the door when he heard her say something that he couldn't quite make out.

"What was that, love?"

"Don't leave," she repeated the words, slightly more coherent this time, as she tried to sit up.

When he turned around and saw the look on her face, he couldn't bring himself to say no. Instead, he said, "Whatever you want, love," and changed courses, walking around the bed and getting in on the other side.

He kept a respectable distance between the two of them, which Caroline snorted at. "You're choosing now to be a gentleman?"

"I've always been a gentleman," Klaus argued right away, before he lifted up an arm and waited for Caroline to crawl underneath it, resting her head against his chest.

"Yeah right," Caroline muttered into his chest, causing him to laugh at her resolve.

"Whatever you say love," he repeated his words from earlier, before placing a lingering kiss to the top of her head, and listening slowly as her breathing steadied and she fell asleep on top of him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO I've decided to continue this story! I'm really enjoying it, and I haven't been able to stop thinking about this universe and it's the first time I've been inspired in a while, so yeah!
> 
> I hope all of you enjoyed this chapter, and please let me know what you think! I wrote about 10 different versions of it before I settled on this one, but I think I'm finally happy with it- I mostly just wanted to get it posted before midnight, and I succeeded with that, so yeah!
> 
> ALSO fair warning, this story started out pretty fluffy, but it will get angstier, though I promise there will be a happy ending! So yeah- enjoy! :)

**Author's Note:**

> OKAY this whole thing turned out to be WAY longer than I anticipated, but if you guys want an epilogue let me know- I meant for it to be a oneshot, but I definitely wouldn't mind writing the Mikaelson family dinner tomorrow with Caroline as the guest of honor, so yeah! Review are always appreciated!
> 
> (ALSO, as with pretty much all of my writing, this is un-beta'd, so please excuse any mistakes!)


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